Low interest rates have people looking around for alternatives. Property Syndicates have become a popular way to eke out a better return on your money. But there are fish hooks. We explore some of the things you should consider when deciding if a Property Syndicate is right for you.

With low interest rates it is not surprising […]

THE GOVERNMENT CUTS CORPORATE TAXES

The Government of India cut corporate taxes from 30% (34.3% including surcharge and cess) to 22% (25.2% all inclusive) on Friday 20th of September 2019. This was announced during market hours and saw one of the strongest rallies ever posted, with the Nifty 50 rising 5.3% by the end of the day.

The estimated US$20bn impact should boost sentiment in Corporate India which apart […]

6th Sept 2019

Key points

• The US-China trade tensions intensified during August. US tariffs will be applied to all Chinese imports by Christmas at an average rate of 22% (from 14% currently). In response, China imposed tariffs of 5-25% on US$185bn of US imports and suspended purchases of US agricultural products.
• Global manufacturing data continued to come in weaker in Europe and China. US followed this theme in early September with […]
  

6th Sept 2019 – Mike Taylor

Why are investors flocking to bonds markets to buy assets with negative interest rates?

About one quarter of global bonds (US$17 trillion worth) now provide negative returns.

“In an uncertain environment people don’t want to lose money so they go to bonds as a safe-haven, that’s what’s driven the demand,” says Pie Funds chief executive Mike Taylor.

Bond markets can seem complex […]

6th Sept 2019 – Mike Taylor

Reporting season has posted strong results

August was a strong month of outperformance for our Australasian Funds. The Growth and Growth 2 Funds were up between 5-6%.

Considering our high cash levels and the market volatility (the XSOAI index was down -3.85%) this is a great result! The outperformance of Growth 1 was 9.84% in one month. How did we do this? August is reporting season […]

The August update, including a profile of Flughafen Zurich is available here.

There were plenty of things that went bump in the night in August. When that happens deciding whether it is a temporary ill wind or a more serious “Ghostie”, to borrow from the well-known poem, is one of the keys to long-term investment success. I share some thoughts on how we go about separating the two.

“From Ghoulies […]

New Zealand equities fell slightly in August, with the S&P/NZX50 down -0.93% in the month. However, the index has returned +15.50% for the 12 months to the end of August.  The Salt Dividend Appreciation Fund declined by a marginal -0.27% in the month.  The largest contributor by some distance was the Fund’s large overweight in Spark (SPK, +11.1%) which refuted broking analyst concerns and delivered an in-line result.

For more detail, […]